South Africa covers itself in glory, ties Mexico

Mexico dominated possession, and it didn’t mean very much as South Africa counterattacked well and scared El Tri in the eventual draw to kick off the 2010 World Cup.

To be honest, Mexico was fortunate to escape with a draw after Rafael Marquez tied it at 1 with a beautiful finish between the keeper and the near post in the 79th minute.

Mexico coach Javier Aguirre might need to go with Andres Guardado, who gave the perfect cross to Marquez, much earlier or start the 23-year-old Deportivo La Coruna star.

South African midfielder Siphiwe Tshabalala will go down as the first person to score in a World Cup game on African soil, and he’ll take that honor with one of the most amazing finishes. Although it was the first goal of the World Cup, Tshabalala’s goal will surely be one of the top five goals of the World Cup.

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Tshabalala has to be the man of the match for South Africa, while Giovani Dos Santos and/or Rafa Marquez deserve the man of the match honors for Mexico.

Guille Franco had to be the dud of the match, especially considering he got the nod over former Chivas sensation Javier Hernandez of Manchester United.

Franco appeared rusty and wasted two good open heading opportunities in a tournament when teams will be punished for wasting opportunities.

With that said, South African goalkeeper Itumeleng Khune did a great job throughout the game and made a sensational save to deny Franco a goal in the first half. He made another incredible stop in the second half, diving to deflect a blistering shot to the top corner by Dos Santos.

Bafana, Bafana was a bit lucky too when Itumeleng Khune left his line and was actually rewarded after missing the ball that Carlos Vela put in the back of the net in a goal that was disallowed in the first half. If Itumeleng Khune had been on his line or a bit closer to his line, Vela’s goal would have counted because there would have been more than one opponent between him and the goal.

In soccer you need a bit of luck. You also have to make your own fortune, and underdog South Africa deserved the tie even though Mexico dominated possession.